


On The Giant Side

by arc852



Series: G/t Sanders Sides OneShots [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: AU, Anxiety, Crying, Fear, GT, Gen, Giant!Patton, Giant/Tiny, Giants, Human!Virgil, Panic, giant!logan, giant!roman, mention of being homeless, sense of helplessness, small mention of abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-22
Updated: 2018-09-22
Packaged: 2019-07-15 16:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,180
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16066949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arc852/pseuds/arc852
Summary: Virgil, a human, moves into a house with three giants.





	1. Chapter 1

 “W-What do you mean there’s nothing?!” Virgil exclaimed, sitting up straight in his chair. The woman sitting at the desk in front of him, Ms. Warrian, looked at him sadly.

 “I’m sorry Mr. Sanders, but there aren’t any homes around that are within your price range.” Virgil’s shoulders scrunched up and he looked down at the papers scattered on the desk. He scanned a few of them, before picking one up and turning it around to show her.

 “What about this one? I could-” He was cut off when Ms. Warrian shook her head.

 “I’ve already spoken with them and they didn’t…approve of you.” She gently took the paper from him and gathered the rest in a clean stack. Virgil swallowed thickly, watching as the many papers were cleaned up.

 “So, what you really meant was, the ones that I actually  _could_  afford didn’t like the thought of a homeless 22 year old with an abused past living with them.” Ms. Warrian winced and looked to see Virgil was trying very hard not to let his tears escape. She sighed as he felt her heart go out to him.

 She had known him for a few months now, when the shelter Virgil had been staying at helped connect them to each other. She was primarily a real estate agent, but also helped the homeless find places they could actually afford. It was part of a semi-new program. All of the options were roommate options, seeing as how that was the only way rent could be so cheap.

 But people were still cruel, like the ones who denied Virgil just because of his dark past and appearance.

 She bit her lip and opened the top right drawer on her desk, hesitantly taking out another paper. There was always this option, but-

 “What’s that?” Virgil asked, noticing the new piece of paper in her hand. Ms. Warrian took a deep breath.

 “This…is another option. It’s well within your price range and while I haven’t spoken to the homeowners yet, I’m almost positive they would accept you but-” She was cut off.

 “I’ll take it!” Virgil yelled, standing up and slamming his hands on her desk. After realizing what he had done, however, he flushed and apologized. But he didn’t sit back down.

 “Virgil, before you accept I must tell you-” She was cut off again.

 “Please, I don’t,” He took in a shaky breath. “I don’t really care anymore. Just please, if they’ll take me in I’ll go, I don’t need to know anything else.” He couldn’t afford anything to scare him away from the chance at actually having a home again. Ms. Warrian stared at him, looking like she was going to tell him anyway, but sighed.

 “Alright. I’ll respect your wishes. I’ll give them a call later today and call you tomorrow with the news.” Virgil nodded.

 “Thank you Ms. Warrian. Talk to you later.” And with that, he left. Ms Warrian sighed and took another look at the paper.

 “Don’t thank me so soon.”

* * *

 Ms. Warrian called him the next day, with the news that he had been accepted. Virgil had been ecstatic. Practically bouncing up and down, a rare sight for him indeed.

 “I’ll have an uber come pick you up tomorrow to take you to your new home. He’ll have already been paid, so there is no need for you to give him money. Make sure you have all your things together.” She had told him and so here Virgil was. The next day, in an uber with his small backpack that contained everything he owned. He kissed the shelter goodbye. Even though it was good to him, he wasn’t sad to leave it.

 He rested his head against the window, music blasting through his headphones. He watched as the city flew by and quietly wondered how far his new home actually was.

 He also found himself wondering about his new roommates, but he forced those thoughts away as best he could. Now was not the time to become anxious over the strangers he would be living with. He was not about to let his anxiety beat him out of his only chance at actually having a home.

 He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to be filled with nothing but music. His phone and headphones had been the only thing he allowed himself to splurge on after the shelter helped him get his job. It was one of the only things that could block his anxiety out, so Virgil considered it well worth the price.

 He got so lost in said music, that he almost had a heart attack when the car ran over a bump. His eyes opened wide and he calmed himself down after realizing what it was. He sighed and looked out the window, only to tense when he noticed where they were.

 The human city was disappearing behind them, the next five miles was barren, but coming up was the  _Giant_  city.

 Virgil looked towards the driver, but all he did was stare ahead and drive. What was happening? Why was the driver taking him to the Giant’s city? Was he being kidnapped? Had he gotten into the wrong car? Oh gosh…

 As his anxiety took over, the car stopped. The driver turned to him. “We’re here.” Virgil paused for a moment, before looking out the window.

 His heart stopped.

 A  _giant_  house, on what seemed to be the edge of the Giant city, loomed before him. And when Virgil said giant, he meant it. The house was  _massive_. Being several hundred feet both tall and wide. The house could fit the whole shelter and a heck of a whole lot more. He barely took notice of how nice the house looked, how kept it was. His fear towards the sheer size outweighed anything else.

 Virgil couldn’t even imagine how big the  _people_  were who lived inside.

 “Are-are you sure that this is the right place?” Virgil asked, stuttering. The driver only nodded, looking annoyed that he hadn’t gotten out yet.

 “This was the address I was given, now kindly step out.” He said, in a not so kindly way. Virgil, despite his fear, did not want to anger the man and stepped out. As soon as he did, the driver was off, back the way they came. Back to the human city. Back to  _safety_.

 Maybe this was a mistake. Ms. Warrian probably gave him the wrong address. Yeah that had to be it. He pulled up her number on his phone and called it after a few minutes of hesitation. He started pacing up and down at the base of the giant driveway as the phone rang.

 “Hello?” Virgil took a breath.

 “Hi, Ms. Warrian? It’s Virgil.” He answered. The line was quiet for a moment.

 “Oh! Virgil, how are you? Aren’t you on your way to your new home?” She asked. Virgil shifted, keeping a wary eye on the giant house. A shadow walked past the covered window and Virgil’s grip on the phone tightened.

 “Uh, yeah, yeah. But I think the driver somehow got the wrong address and dropped me off near the edge of the Giant city. Crazy right? So, if you could maybe call another uber and tell them to pick me up to take me to the right one, that would be really great.” This time, the line was quiet for a long time, causing Virgil to panic, even as Ms. Warrian answered him.

 “Virgil…You’re at the right address.” Virgil froze.

 “What?” He heard her sigh on the other end.

 “The three giants who lived there wanted to try and be part of the program. After very careful interviews and backgrounds checks, we decided to allow them to. However, as you could probably guess, no one went for it.” Virgil was not at all surprised at that, but he was currently hung up on the fact that she said there were  _three_  giants living here.

 “I tried to tell you Virgil, but you were insistent on not being told.” Virgil cursed himself for that. Oh how he wished he could take that back.

 “But-” She cut him off.

 “Virgil, they are very nice people. Please, give them a chance. We both know how much you need this.” Virgil shut his eyes, knowing she was right, but still so overcome with fear at the thought of meeting and interacting with giants.

 Besides, what if they had ulterior motives for signing up for the program? It wasn’t impossible to fake a background check and be nice over interviews. Especially since he was sure those interviews happened over the phone. Instead of a roommate, they could want a pet instead.

 His thoughts were interrupted when Ms. Warrian spoke again. “Please Virgil, just give it a try?”

 Despite wanting to say no, he found himself answering, “Okay.” His eyes widened at his own words as Ms. Warrian sighed with relief.

 “Thank you Virgil. It will be great, I promise. Now I have to get going okay?” Virgil swallowed thickly.

 “O-Okay.” They both said their goodbyes before they hung up and Virgil looked down at his phone with a helpless expression. He slowly looked up at the house in the near distance and gulped. Gripping his backpack tighter he hesitantly moved forward.

 It took him awhile to get to the door of the house, mostly because he was still extremely hesitant. The only reason he wasn’t walking back to the human city on his own, was because he  _really_  needed this. He was done with living on the streets, done living in the shelter. So if that meant rooming with… _giants_ , then he supposed he would have to live with it.

 Oh gosh, what was he getting himself into.

 He sized up the door, cowering as he realized he couldn’t even see where it ended. How the heck was he supposed to get the giant’s attention? They wouldn’t hear his knock and the doorbell was too far up for Virgil to…reach…

 Virgil furrowed his eyebrows at the sight of a string hanging to the side with a small sign that read ‘HUMAN PULL HERE’. Frowning, Virgil followed the string up to see that it was connected to the doorbell.

 Pushing past his nerves, which honestly took several more minutes, he gripped the string tight and pulled. Virgil heard the loud dinging coming from inside and soon he heard the footsteps that indicated someone walking toward the door. Virgil gripped his bag tighter and he wanted to do nothing more than run away as the door opened, revealing an actual, honest to goodness  _giant_.

 However, Virgil found himself frozen as he strained his head to look up- _and up and up and up_ -at the giant.

 “Hello?” The giant bellowed, voice shaking Virgil to the core. The voice wasn’t unbearable, but it was much louder than any human could make their voice.

 But that was nothing compared to when the giant looked down and their eyes met.

 Virgil felt the breath leave him as a pair of giant blue orbs met his minuscule brown ones. He wanted to turn away, but he was fixated on those eyes. It was almost like he could swim in them…

 The giant’s eyes went from confusion to excitement in only a second.

 “Oh my goodness! You’re here! You’re here!” The giant giggled out excitedly and Virgil could just tell he was trying hard not to bounce around. The giant stepped aside and motioned into the house.

 “Come on in kiddo! We’re all so excited to meet you!”  _Kiddo_? Virgil mentally questioned.  _We_? Right, there were  _three_  giants living here, not just one.

 Three giants.

  _Three_  giants.

 Virgil could barely comprehend one when said giant was right in front of him.

 Virgil realized he had just been standing there for a minute. He looked up nervously, but the giant still had a smile on his face, waiting patiently for him to move on inside. Virgil averted his gaze and gripped his bag until his knuckles were white. He had to do this.

 He took a step and then another and soon he found the concrete below his feet was replaced by wooden flooring. He continued to walk, the giant closing the door behind him after he was well away from the door, and though he had been expecting it, it had still managed to make him jump.

 “Do you want me to take your coat for…uhh…” The giant must have seen Virgil back up at not only the question but at the hands that had started to reach towards him, because he stopped what he was saying and pulled his hands away with a slight blush.

 “Uh, never mind.” He coughed, before grinning once again.

 “Come on kiddo, the others are waiting in the living room.” The giant spoke, walking past him and into the next room. Virgil froze as this happened, seeing a giant walk right past you was something else, that was for sure.

  _Terrifying_.

 He picked back up his walking and continued to go where he saw the giant disappear. He was actually surprised he was walking. He had expected the giants to pick him right up and move him as they pleased. He supposed this was so far so good?

 Hopefully it wasn’t downhill from here.

 He turned the corner, finally revealing the living room to him…and the three giants who occupied it.

 The one who had answered the door was still standing on the opposite end of the room, the two new giants were both sitting on the couch. All of their gazes were on him as soon as he entered and he stiffened in tense fear.

 Oh this had been a bad idea, why hadn’t he run when he had the chance?

 “Welcome to your new home, kiddo!” The one who had opened the door suddenly exclaimed, causing Virgil to jump and focus on that particular giant. “My name is Patton. It’s nice to meet ya!” The giant-Patton, said, grinning wide. Virgil swallowed thickly as Patton continued.

 “This is Roman.” The giant closest to him, wearing red, gave him a seated bow. “And this is Logan!” Patton said, pointing to the giant next to Roman. Logan gave Virgil a nod.

 “Salutations.” Virgil managed to nod back. Though he soon noticed they were all looking expectantly at him and Virgil realized they were waiting for him to introduce himself, just as they had done.

 “Oh, uh, I-I’m…Virgil.” Virgil stammered out, speaking softly and looking down. It was silent and for a moment Virgil thought they hadn’t heard him, but then a loud clap from above snapped his head up in that direction. Patton, apparently, had been the source of the noise and for a brief moment, he saw something akin to…panic? On Patton’s face. But it quickly left and Patton was now grinning down at him with his hands together.

 Virgil must have imagined it.

 “Well, it’s so nice to meet you Virgil!” Virgil hummed and stuck his hands into his pockets, looking away. He couldn’t quite say for sure if the feeling was mutual, so he simply decided to stay quiet.

 Apparently the others decided on doing the same thing because the room was once again met with silence. An awkward silence. But so much worse than with other humans. At least, that was Virgil’s current thought.

 “Should we…offer food now, or…?” He heard Logan mutter, most likely to the others, along with a flutter of paper. Than a booming voice shook Virgil’s core.

 “Oh! Can we show him his room now? We absolutely have to show him his room!” Virgil looked up to realize the loud voice had been Roman, who had gotten up and out of his chair in excitement. The question was though, why was Roman so excited to show him his new room? For some reason, the thought put him on edge and his mind started going down the paths of what ifs.

 “Of course, as long as Virgil is ready.” Patton said, looking down at him. Virgil’s mind and body froze for several seconds before he managed to nod.

 “Y-Yeah, that’s fine.” Virgil saw Roman grin.

 “Perfect!” Roman stepped closer and before anyone, much less Virgil, could react, Roman reached down and scooped him up into the palm of his hand.

 It took Virgil a second to gain his bearings and realize exactly where he was, but when he did he stopped breathing. He was on a hand. He was  _on_  a  _hand_.

 “Roman!” Patton suddenly shouted and Roman stopped to turn toward the other giant. Patton was looking at Virgil with a concerned look and Logan, who had stood, was glaring at Roman. Roman looked down at Virgil before a blush settled on his cheeks.

 “Oh shoot, oh shoot, I’m so sorry, uh, ah-” He heard the giant stammer out and soon Virgil found himself placed on the coffee table. Roman backpedaled several steps when he set Virgil down and the human found himself very confused at what had just happened. Because…what  _had_  just happened?

 “I am so sorry, I got too excited, I didn’t mean to pick you up like that!” Roman apologized, which Virgil could only blink at in response.

 “And we had just spoken about this exact thing too…” Virgil heard Logan mutter behind him and he turned to face the other two giants. Logan was pinching the bridge of his nose and Patton was looking at him with concern. He kneeled down, but kept his distance, though that didn’t stop Virgil from backing up a few steps anyway.

 “Are you alright kiddo?” Patton asked him. Virgil searched the giant’s face, but saw nothing but concern. Tentatively, he nodded.

 “I-I’m alright.” Virgil spoke, fidgeting with his sleeves. Logan was the next to kneel down, to the right of Patton.

 “Please don’t take anything that Roman says or does as bad, he is just an idiot.” Logan spoke, causing Roman to glare at the back of his head.

 “Hey!” Roman kneeled down next, now looking at Virgil. “I’m so sorry Virgil, I wasn’t thinking.” Logan rolled his eyes.

 “Of course you weren’t, that’s why I called you an idiot.” Roman let out a series of offended noises.

 “Why you-!”

 “Guys! Please…” Patton cut Roman off, looking between the both of them with a pointed look. Roman huffed but didn’t pick up his last sentence. Logan merely adjusted his glasses and turned away from Roman. Patton shook his head, though Virgil could indicate some sort of fondness in it.

 Patton’s eyes once again met Virgil’s.

 “I’m- _We’re_  sorry about all this. We’ve never met a human in person before and we were trying to make a good first impression. I guess we’re all just a little…nervous.” Virgil blinked.  _They_  were nervous. About meeting  _him_. But they were the giants here. He was just a small, pathetic human. What reason would they have to be  _nervous_. Patton continued to speak.

 “And we, we entered the program close to a year ago now and yet no one wanted to come live with us…” Patton trailed off, a sad look in his eyes.

 “Of course, we don’t blame anyone.” Logan spoke, sighing as he fixed his glasses. “It is well known that a lot humans fear giants. And it is indeed an acceptable fear to have, considering things like human trafficking is still going on and-” Virgil was thankful when Roman cut him off.

 “But when we heard that a human had chosen us, we were so excited! We immediately started setting everything up, making everything look perfect.”

 “We talked to each other about how we were going to act when you got here, I even made a list.” Logan said, holding up a notebook seemingly from out of nowhere, giving Virgil a chance to look it over.

  * _Patton will answer the door  
_
  * _Patton will then lead the human to the living room  
_
  * _We introduce ourselves  
_
  * _Wait for human to introduce self_



 After that, it was a mesh of ideas on what to do after he had introduced himself. He couldn’t tell what the order was for the rest or if there even was an order. Probably not, based on Logan’s earlier muttered question. He also noticed that the handwriting changed throughout the page.

 “We just wanted this to go perfectly.” Patton’s voice drew him out of the notebook in order to look at the other giant. He was fidgeting with the hoodie wrapped around his shoulders. “We…really  _do_  want to give you a good home here.”

 Virgil was honestly speechless. He couldn’t comprehend everything the giants had spoken. Were they…really trying so hard for…him?

 He noticed the giant’s exchange sad and worried looks when he didn’t speak, Patton bit his lip. “Can we still show you your room? Before you…uh…” Virgil wasn’t quite sure what Patton was going to say, though he had an inkling. He didn’t speak, but he nodded.

 “Awesome! Alright, uh…” Patton looked between Logan and Roman, before Roman swooped in and offered a hand, palm up in front of Virgil. Virgil backed away from it, but froze when he realized it wasn’t chasing after him.

 “I am sorry about earlier. But, I was wondering…May I give you a ride?” Virgil blinked, but he supposed it was the best option. He was still very afraid of being near these giants, but so far they hadn’t been bad. In fact, they had been…great so far. Surprisingly. This was not at all how Virgil had expected this to go.

 He took a deep breath and carefully climbed onto the hand. He could feel the giants gazes on him for a brief moment, before they seemed to shake out of it and they all stood.

 Virgil planted his hands on the palm to hold himself in place as Roman stood up and moved. They all walked in silence, coming into a rather large hallway and walking until they were at the end of it.

 They stopped and it took Virgil a minute to understand what he was looking at. But when he did, his eyes widened.

 The wall had been cut into, creating a staircase that went into the wall and zigzagged back and forth with windows following it up. It led to a room, that slightly protruded out of the wall and had a balcony attached to it. It was at about the height of the giant’s chest and though he could barely see the inside. The outside alone was enough to make him stare in awe.

 “Do you like it?” Roman asked him, his voice flowing into Virgil. “I created the room a few months back and when we got your file I tried my best to decorate it with your style. I hope it uh, I mean, I hope you like it?”

 Virgil couldn’t help it. They had done all this for him. Had planned this for him. Wanted him to  _stay_ , even after having seen his profile, even after meeting him. They were  _trying_  to make him feel at home and it was the most anyone had ever done for him.

 He started to cry.

 “V-Virgil?!”

 “Oh no…”

 “Kiddo! Are alright, is something wrong? Does Roman need to put you down?” All three of them were worried and Roman even went to kneel down, but Virgil turned back and smiled at them. Shocking the three giants.

 “T-Thank you. I just-Thanks.” Virgil managed to get out. The other calmed down and soft smiles even settled on all their faces.

 “Does…that mean you like it?” Roman asked nervously. And Virgil nodded.

 “I love it.” Roman beamed at his words and he seemed to be standing up a little straighter now.

 “Does this mean…you want to stay?” Patton asked, even more nervous than Roman had been. The others now matched his nervousness with their looks and Virgil fidgeted.

 “Only…If you’ll have me.” Patton blinked, before grinning. He slowly and gently offered a hand to Virgil, who hesitated, but took it. Climbing out of Roman’s hand and into Patton’s.

 Man, being in two giant hands in one day. He never thought that would happen.

 “Of course kiddo,  _of course_.” Patton smiled down at him. “You were the one to give us a chance after all.” Virgil blinked before smiling himself, tears filling his eyes again.

 “Well, you were the only ones to give  _me_  a chance, so…thanks, again.” Virgil said, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. Silence fell over them once again, but this time it wasn’t awkward. It was comfortable, nice.

 “How about we have some dinner? The lasagna Patton put in the oven should be just about done by now.” Logan suggested and everyone nodded. They headed into the kitchen, Patton placing Virgil on the table as he got out the food.

 As Virgil sat and ate with his new roommates for the first time, he knew it was going to be hard. A human living with three giants was gonna take more than a little getting used to. Not to mention he was still terrified of them, though he found he was more scared of their size than he actually was of  _them_. Still, it would be a long while until he felt comfortable around them.

 But they gave him a chance.

 So he would give them one as well.


	2. Overwhelmed

 Virgil stepped off the bus and took a moment to simply stare up at his giant sized house. He listened as the bus sped off, back to the human only part of town. He took several deep breaths as he walked up to the house, tightening his hold around his backpack. His headphones were around his shoulders, only because his phone had died halfway back home. He rubbed at his eye before taking out his keys and unlocking the human-sized door. **  
**

 He stepped inside, closing and locking the door behind him. He dropped his keys onto the small table beside the door and then checked the door again, just to make sure it was indeed locked. Not that a human sized intruder would be much of a problem, not with his roommates, but Virgil couldn’t help but take the extra caution.

 The house was quiet, but Virgil knew why. It was only 7pm after all. Logan, Roman and Patton would all still be at their respective places of work for at least another few hours. Which was great for Virgil, it meant he could go and hide out in his room without being stopped and/or questioned.

 As he walked through the house, staying near the wall because even if no one was home he wasn’t going to risk walking right down the middle, he was surprised to see the kitchen light on. Virgil’s eyes widened and his mind immediately went to a burglar. But as he got closer he heard the unmistakable humming of one of his roommates and best friends.

 He relaxed slightly, but bit his lip. This ruined his plan of holding himself up in his room. Unless of course, he could somehow sneak past without being seen. Virgil decided to try it, but wasn’t surprised when he heard a voice speak out.

 “Virgil! You’re home!” The ground rumbled as the giant got closer and Virgil sighed, but stayed put. He put on a tired smile as he stared up at his friend.

 “Hey Patton.” Patton grinned wide and wiped his hands off with the apron he was wearing. His apron becoming covered in flour.

 “Permission to pick you up?” A genuine smile found its way on Virgil’s face. It always made Virgil feel a little more equal whenever the others asked permission to hold him first.

 “Sure Pat.” Virgil allowed himself to be surrounded by the familiar feeling of fingers. They wrapped around his body gently, his back being cupped by the giant’s palm. He threw his hands up as the grip solidified, in order for his arms to be free. He was then lifted up, a  _little_  too fast for Virgil’s liking, but that was just Patton being, well, Patton. Virgil didn’t like it but he honestly didn’t mind it very much.

 Virgil didn’t find himself in the grip for long, however. Before he knew it, he was put down on the kitchen counter. The counter, too, was covered in flour and other various baking ingredients.

 “Sorry about the mess kiddo, I was in the middle of baking some cookies!” Patton said when he noticed Virgil looking at said mess.

 “It’s fine.” Virgil murmured and watched as Patton opened the oven to check on the cookies.

 “Looks like they still need a few more minutes.” Patton announced before taking off his oven mitts and turning his attention back to Virgil.

 “So, how was work?” Virgil bit his lip. This was the question he had been dreading and though he could lie, and probably would, he hated it.

 “It was fine.” Virgil muttered, before quickly changing the subject. Hoping to distract Patton from looking more into his tone. “Why are you home so early?”

 “The restaurant started construction halfway through the day, so everyone got sent home early. I actually have the next few days off.” Patton explained and then his eyes got a little sad and Virgil knew what was coming.

 “How was work really?” Patton asked again and Virgil sighed.

 “Like I said, it was…fine.” Patton leaned closer to Virgil, not caring if his bare arms got covered in flour.

 “Kiddo, you know you can tell me anything right? I’m here for you no matter what.” The giant reached out a hand, running a finger through Virgil’s hair and down his back. Virgil tensed for only a moment, before relaxing.

 “I…” Half of Virgil still wanted to keep everything he was dealing with to himself. But the other half wanted the relief of telling another person.

 The latter half won.     

 “I-I  _hate_  work.” Virgil admitted with a slightly present sneer as he death gripped his right arm.

 “Now kiddo-”

 “No! You don’t understand!” Virgil shouted, cutting off whatever Patton was going to say. His pent up emotions finally making him snap. “I went from full time to basically nothing and when presented with the option to cross-train I took it, because they promised me it would fill in for my missing hours!” Tears started flowing down Virgil’s cheeks and it took all he had to not start full on sobbing.

 “And now? I’ve only had two days of training and they expect me to close by myself even though I’ve  _told_  them I wasn’t comfortable. I don’t know  _anything_  Patton and they want me to freaking close by myself and leave me to answer customer questions I don’t even know the answers to and to top it all off they’re  _clearly_  trying to push me away from my old department into this new one which I  _don’t_ want to do and, and, and-” The constriction he had felt in his chest for the past few days finally became too much and he fell to his knees in a mess of sobs.

 “I  _can’t_  anymore, Patton. I just  _can’t!_ ” Virgil cried into the sleeves of his hoodie

 “Oh, Virgil…I didn’t know.” Virgil continued to cry and Patton bit his lip, feeling helpless. He reached his hands out, but stopped just short of touching the human.

 “C-Can I hold you kiddo?” Patton asked. It took a few moments but eventually Virgil gave a tiny nod. That was all Patton needed to scoop him up so he now rested in his cupped hands. He moved away from the kitchen, into the living room to sit down on the couch. Allowing Virgil to be up against his chest, one hand still cupping him for support.

 “Just let it out Virge. It’s…good to get all of your pent up emotion out.” Patton whispered gently, rubbing a finger across Virgil’s back as he continued to cry into his shirt. Patton didn’t say anything else, not until Virgil stopped crying a few minutes later.

 Virgil sniffed, letting out a shaky breath. A few last tears slipped from his eyes, but he was done crying. And though he hated to admit it, the crying  _did_  make him feel a little bit better.

 “You alright kiddo?” Virgil took a deep breath and nodded against Patton’s chest.

 “I-I’m sorry Patton, I shouldn’t have-” He was cut off by Patton’s voice.

 “No. Don’t be sorry. You don’t have to be sorry for letting your feelings out.” Virgil nodded again and snuggled deeper into Patton’s chest.

 “I just, I don’t know what to do anymore. I thought this was a great job when I first started, in fact it was almost too good to be true.” Virgil sighed. “But then, things just kept on getting worse and worse. With my hours getting cut back, them trying to move me places I don’t want to be at…And I’m too much of a coward to even stand up for myself.” Patton’s eyes widened.

 “Hey, no, you are not a coward. You have anxiety, yes, but that does not make you a coward.” Patton sighed, trying to find the right words to say. “Virgil, I know things may seem- _feel_ hopeless right now. Like your stuck. Like the whole world is against you.” Virgil nodded, tears threatening to fall again as he gripped Patton’s shirt tighter.

 “ _But_  you won’t always feel like this. Things  _will_  get better, they always do. Even if right now, it doesn’t seem like it will. And I think, kiddo, in this situation…it might be best for you to leave.” Virgil gasped and moved his head to look up at Patton with wide eyes.

 “But-But I can’t just  _quit_.” Patton nodded.

 “True, but I think maybe another job would be good for you. A better one. One that actually treats you _right_. Because kiddo, I can tell you with absolute certainty that none of this is your fault. It’s all on  _them_.” Slowly, Virgil started to nod in understanding. Patton was right. What he needed to do was remove himself from the stressful environment.

 The thought alone, of leaving his current job, made him feel lighter.

 But going from this job to  _another_  job similar to it, didn’t feel quite right.

 “I-I think I want to go back to school.” Patton’s eyes widened and he moved Virgil away from his chest in order to look at him.

 “What? Really?” Virgil nodded and looked down at Patton’s hand, subconsciously running his own hand over the small grooves.

 “I-I always thought I would be okay with just a job. That there was no reason to waste money and be in debt forever by going to school, especially when I never even liked school in the first place.” He sighed. “But now, I can’t imagine myself being in a job like this forever. Heck, I can’t even picture myself being at a similar job for another  _month_. I want a job like Logan, Roman, and you have. I want a  _career_.” Things fell silent for a moment and Virgil finally looked up at Patton, only to see Patton looking at him with glistening eyes. 

 He was not expecting the next words to come out of Patton’s mouth.

 “Let me help pay for your school.” Virgil’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet, swaying slightly thanks to the uneven surface he was on.

 “What?! No, I can’t ask that of you Patton.” Patton giggled and brought Virgil back close to his chest. Virgil eventually sat down again and snuggled back up against him.

 “You’re not asking, I’m offering.” Patton paused for a moment and Virgil laid his head against his chest, listening to the melodic beating of Patton’s heart. “Kiddo, I want to support you in everything you do. And if that’s going back to college and getting a degree for a career you actually  _want_  then I’m going to support the heck out of you.” Virgil gave a small smile and closed his eyes.

 “Thanks Patton.” Patton hummed and they fell into a comfortable silence. One that was broken a few seconds later by a loud beep. Virgil was startled out of his relaxed state while Patton perked up.

 “Oh! Cookies are done!” He stood up, Virgil still in his cupped hands as he made his way back into the kitchen. He set Virgil back down on the counter and took the cookies out. Virgil looked at the giant sized cookies, quickly realizing just how hungry he was. They looked great and smelled even better. Virgil really did adore Patton’s cooking.

 “They just have to cool and then we can dig in!” Patton exclaimed and Virgil nodded. The giant turned back to his small friend. “By the way, what degree were you thinking about doing?” Virgil smiled and shrugged.

 “Don’t know, but I did always enjoy graphic design in high school.”


End file.
